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On November 14, Trevor and I attended the fourth Annual Quidditch World Cup! And just in time for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (and you know how excited we were about that)! It came to NYC that weekend, it was free, and we got to go. I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to be truly excited. I didn’t know much about real-life Quidditch, but it did sound a little silly. This all changed within five minutes of being at the makeshift stadium in Dewitt Clinton Park. As I sat on the curb waiting for my friends, a girl dressed in a yellow jersey, gold sequined shorts, and yellow socks ran by me at top speed. Moments later, her pursuers flew by, identical looks of determination on their faces and brooms in hand. I had just seen the two opposing Seekers attempting to catch a Snitch. It was awesome.

We ended up watching several of the matches, including both the semifinal and final games. As the day wore on, we were more and more excited. Of course, this Quidditch differs quite a bit from the Quidditch in J. K. Rowling’s world. We’re still not witches and wizards (much to my everlasting disappointment) and so we can’t exactly, you know, fly.

Players run with brooms between their legs, the Snitch is a human being who taunts the Seekers until one of them grabs a small ball tied to the Snitch’s waist, and Bludgers are closer to dodge balls than lethally fast balls that could break your arm. Other rules remain the same: The Quaffle is still the ball that scores the points, Beaters still protect the Seekers, and the Keeper still guards the three rings at each end of the field.

The college where Muggle Quidditch was invented took the cup home, once again. Middlebury College beat out Tufts for the trophy, in what was a very exciting and well-played match. And we were screaming and cheering just as hard as any seasoned Quidditch fan!

Here are some of the pictures we grabbed that day:

If I wasn’t already rereading the books for the movie, you can bet that this event would have pushed me right back into this wonderful series.

You can find the complete Harry Potter set on Lucky and Arrow this November!

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